~ Patriotic Degree – Knights of Columbus

Category Archives: Assembly News

The passing of a Sir Knight is a very sad moment for the Assembly, but, somehow, the loss of one of our Ladies hits us even harder.

This past week we said, “Farewell” to Ken Jorgensen’s wonderful wife, Gladys. She was a fine addition to our assembly family. She was well known for her generosity, kindness, and helpfulness. It was not usual for her to call to check up on another sir knight’s wife to see how they were doing, how were the kids, and more. She even made almost daily calls to a member wife when she was away to the west coast caring for her elderly parent.

We join together to wish Ken Jorgensen and his family peace and comfort.

Gladys will be interred at a later date at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church Columbarium.

On behalf of Faithful Navigator Jim Boyd, this is a reminder of Assembly 3005’s social dinner and meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

The social will start at 6 pm with a social hour and dinner at 7 pm. A brief meeting will be incorporated in the social as well. The January Social Dinner will replace our scheduled January Assembly Meeting.

We are having the social at the University Club in Durham. This is an outstanding dinner buffet that includes prime rib. Cost is $30 per person. There is a cash bar.

All Assembly members and their spouses/significant others are welcome. The attire will be social regalia for Fourth Degree Sir Knights.

The Assembly extends an invitation to all third degree Knights in Councils 10910 and 3390 Durham and their spouses/significant others. This is an excellent opportunity for council knights to learn more about the Fourth Degree and our social activities. Come and join us. Your wife will be delighted you were thoughful enough to take her to a semi-formal Knights of Columbus dinner. Attire for all third degree Knights is jacket and tie.

The Assembly looks forward to a wonderful turn out for this event.

On behalf of FN Jim Boyd and Assembly 3005 Officers, we send our best wishes for a continued blessed Christmas Season and a Very Happy New Year!

We have held an annual fund drive to send amputees home for Christmas. These are men and women patients at Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune hospitals. This is a joint effort of the Knights of the Fourth Degree of the DeSoto Province and the Military Order of the Purple Heart (a 501c3 charity), which matches our collection.

How did we do? Did we make a difference? The assembly received donations at both St. Thomas More and Holy Cross Churches. Chapel Hill parishioners donated $1,700 and our knights at Holy Cross Church collected $1,100, for a total project collection of $2,800.

Past State Deputy Robert Singer shared this year’s results with us. He said, “2014 has been the most successful year we have experienced, with a total donations, as of today of $92,537. This brings our total since we started in 2006 to over $600,000.

In August I was asked to come to the National Meeting of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. At that time I received a large plaque for having collected over $500,000, 1/2 million dollars.

I continue traveling to Florida each year as they are very generous, with so many of the Knights in Florida are retired Military Officers, with a very good pension. I see an increase from nearly every Council or Assembly that donates to this fund.”

Bob Singer summed up his report with, “All of the Wounded Warriors have already been given their checks for their trip home. A very happy bunch of military personal.”

Like links in a chain and threads in a rope, we link and bond together to serve others. That is the mission of our order and our duty as Catholic gentlemen.

We thank the parishes of St. Thomas More and Holy Cross churches for their generosity this year and pray that they will continue to support this very important program.

We join the Fourth Degree to show our patriotism, but we gain camaraderie and fellowship. We bond together as brothers. How do we do that? We gather to have fun and help each other.

One example is Sir Knight Jerry Pilarski. There is no task that he will not take on. The word “can’t” does not seem to be in his vocabulary. This writer can remember many a meeting where Jerry would stand up and say, “…. then I’ll get it done.”

I think it has something to do with his airborne and army medic training. You can’t be a paratrooper with doubt on your mind. You are jumping out of planes that were made by the low bidder, as was your parachute. You are responding to a “Go!”-light and command that will take you into flight out of your control. You are in God’s hands as the wind carries you out and gently guides you to the ground. Where you land is often not as planned.

And, I can not think of any instance where a about a combat medic looked down on the trusting face of a helpless warrior and said, “…. I can’t ….”

“Where there is life, there is hope.” Jerry is forever young at 80+.

Jerry is our council pig cooker, Lamb champion, parish greeter, friend, pancake cooker, fish monger, and so much more. He is helpful, caring, and consistent. Every year for over 47 years he has gathered with family and friends to celebrate the New Year with a family-style pig picking. Everyone brings a covered dish or a dessert. Jerry and his family does the rest.

Why not join Jerry this year? Turn off the television. There is more to do than drink beer, eat chips and watch a game. You can see the highlights later. Head to Orange Grove Church Road and Jerry’s New Year’s Day pig picking. Join other knights to share God’s blessings. Learn more and get directions.

The St. Thomas More School is having a Veterans Day event on Tuesday. Here is what is going on…

Armed Forces personnel are invited to participate in and be honored at a ceremony at the school on Veteran’s Day, Tuesday, November 11th.

Veterans, servicemen, servicewomen, active duty personnel, ROTC students, current and former National Guard personnel are invited.

Guests are asked to arrive at the school between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m. on the 11th. There will be a brief ceremony indoors followed by a flag raising ceremony outside (weather permitting), then coffee and light refreshments. It should be over by 8:30 a.m., although a few teachers may be requesting some participants to visit their classrooms.

St. Thomas More School is located on Fordham Boulevard (NC 15-501) in Chapel Hill. The school address is 920 Carmichael St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Map

On Veterans Day weekend, we honor our veterans. There is a special group of living veterans now in military hospitals. They are hospitalized amputees at nearby Camp Lejeune and Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

These men and women are now undergoing treatment and rehabilitation for their war injuries and they will be there over the Christmas holiday period. Most do not have funds to travel to their homes for the holidays. Our mission is to help send them home to be with their families.

Knights at St. Thomas More Church will collect donations after each mass on Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th. Please be generous.

The Desoto Province Knights are from our churches in North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico. All donations are tax deductible. Make your checks payable to the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Add a notation that the check is for the Wounded Warriors Amputee Project. The Military Order of the Purple Heart will provide you with a card of thanks and receipt for your gift.

Jim Boyd was installed as the Assembly Faithful Navigator at a special assembly dinner and installation ceremony on July 23 at the Durham Club. New officers were installed by District Master David Onofrio. The Durham Assembly joined us for a joint installation ceremony and dinner.

Joe Acciarito has served the assembly as our faithful navigator for two years and we thank him for his service and leadership. Our assembly has done very well under his care.

Barbara Lodge has taken lots and lots of photos of the installation and dinner, including this photo. Barbara advises that all the photos are free for you to download if you wish. There is no cost to you. Directions for how to download the photos are found inside the gallery. To view and download photos, click here.

A proposal is before the Assembly to change our meeting night from the FOURTH TUESDAY to a Wednesday or Thursday. This is to enable more members to attend our meetings.

Wednesday seems to fit most members and our Faithful Friar can also attend on a Wednesday evening. We ask your consideration of this change.

Please give us your thoughts and we will present them at our next meeting in May. We will vote on a change then. How do you let us know what you think? You can complete an on-line form. There are just two questions to answer and a special spot is provided to add personal comments.

Sir Knight Robert Troy has been called to Holy Orders by Bishop Burbidge this week. This means that Bob Troy will be ordained as a Deacon in June.

Bob, upon receiving congratulations from his brother knights, said,

“I want to express my deep appreciation to all the support and prayers I have received from all of you. I am truly humbled when I think about what is coming soon. I firmly believe this is God’s Will for me, and I look forward to the next step in this journey. I thank you in advance for your continued prayers as ordination approaches, scheduled for June 28. VIvat Jesus!”